Ragtime Music

The works on this CD form an agreeable program of music inspired by popular and folk idioms, culminating sensibly in Petrushka. I should note that this recording of Petrushka is not the complete ballet but a slightly shorter version, with a loud ending, that was popular in Europe in most of the last century. It was also recorded by Ferenc Fricsay. The performances by the Royal Scottish National are jaunty and brilliant. Ragtime is even better than Bernard Hermann's version and the Octet has real punch. The sound on these two are superb, while the Suite from L'Histoire du Soldat, which was recorded earler, has slightly less presence but is still very agreeable. The Suite is done to a fare-thee-well, with really raucous and vigorous playing that fully characterizes the story. As for Petrushka, it is an excellent if not extremely distinctive performance, somewhat distantly recorded but with excellent balances and tone quality. This CD is highly recommended as a discerning way to experience a certain part of Stravinsky's oeuvre.

Aage Haugland is fantastic, also as a narrator, but the tempos are way too fast on this recording. This is not what Stravinsky wrote. All the marches are written in tempo 112 and this is more like 120!! The recorded sound is very good and the musicians are excellent.

This is a representative sampling of JL Stiles' various flavors, including down home funk ("Guv'na's Funk"), straight ahead blues, and folk. Several tunes achieve satisfying grooves, and all are laced with an edginess and purity that sets Stiles apart.